In the January issue, Michael Tardiff writes about the renovation of a 50-year-old ranch house in Potomac. Rather than tear down the original home and build anew—which would have cost more than $2 million—the owners demolished a third of the house and added a second story. The renovated home is larger than what they had planned to build, but cost about half the original estimate.

Click here to see more pictures of the renovation by David Haresign of DC-based Bonstra Haresign Architects.

When it comes to real-estate listings, multiple listings service Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS) is king. But only agents can access its data directly.

Owned by MRIS, Homesdatabase.com is the next-best option. It covers 22,000 square miles in five states, including DC, Maryland, and Virginia. One caveat: It doesn’t list street addresses, so you have to go to a broker for detailed information.

Brokerage site ZipRealty includes neighborhood data such as average household income and crime statistics. Real-estate search engine Trulia lets you sign up to get an e-mail alert if a specific address in its database goes on the market.

All three sites also let you search by house characteristics—such as number of bedrooms and baths, style, size, and price—and register your preferences so you’ll hear when any home that meets them becomes available.

Redfin lets buyers research neighborhoods, find houses for sale, and negotiate offers, all online.

Looking to rent? Check out Hotpads, which superimposes rental listings on interactive maps and includes photos as well as information on amenities and lease terms.

If you’re more interested in real-estate snooping than listings, check out Zillow or Eppraisal, which offer free home valuations and recent sales data.

This article appears in the December 2007 issue of The Washingtonian.

Where: 5215 Moorland Lane, Bethesda
Listing Price: $7,600,000
Time on the Market: two and a half weeks
Bedrooms: six
Bathrooms: six

This English-style manor house, called White Chimneys, was built in 1918. On an acre in Edgemoor, the home has a library with gas fireplace and a family room with heated tile floors. There’s also an 1,800-bottle wine cellar, seven fireplaces, and a security system. Outside is a pool, pool house, fish pond, tennis court, and four-car garage.

In sleepy Farmville, Virginia, 170 miles from DC, Green Front Furniture (316 N. Main St.; 434-392-5943) is the biggest name around. The discount furniture retailer fills 750,000 square feet in 15 no-frills buildings—old tobacco warehouses and renovated storefronts. Picking through the thousands of pieces of furniture can be a money-saving way to spend an afternoon.

Richard Crallé, who founded the company more than 40 years ago, keeps costs low by doing little advertising and buying directly from manufacturers. Most pieces are traditional; Green Front carries more than 200 manufacturers including Ralph Lauren, Hickory Chair, Maitland-Smith, and Sherrill.

But the Oriental rugs are the stars. Imported from India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, China, and Nepal, rugs arrive by the truckload every week. A 9-by-12 Persian rug can sell for as little as $500. If you don’t have time to make the trip to Farmville, there’s a smaller version of the store—85,000 square feet—in Manassas (10154 Harry J. Parish Blvd.; 703-396-8560).

This article appears in the December 2007 issue of The Washingtonian. 

The Box Score
Maryland: 4
Virginia: 3
DC: 3

$5,250,000—11005 Glenn Brooke Court, Glenn Dale
$3,500,000—652 Deerfield Farm Court, Great Falls
$2,750,000—4822 Drummond Avenue, Chevy Chase
$2,275,000—3606 North Vernon Street, Arlington
$2,150,000—3518 Turner Lane, Chevy Chase
$2,125,000—7700 Marbury Road, Bethesda
$2,123,000—3251 Prospect Street, NW, No. 406, Georgetown
$2,106,000—4722 Rodman Street, NW, Spring Valley
$2,050,000—3326 Reservoir Road, NW, Georgetown
$2,000,000—421 Walker Road, Great Falls

Crate & Barrel’s Armand Leather Chair  ($1,699.00) is covered in chocolate-colored leather and studded with brass nailheads. The flared hardwood legs are in a matching java finish. Crate & Barrel will overnight a leather swatch sample to customers before they order.

Crate & Barrel locations in Arlington (703-890-2300), Spring Valley (202-364-6100), Bethesda (301-365-2600), and McLean (703-891-0090).

The Kylie Club Chair ($299.99) in brown from Target is made of bonded leather upholstry with a hardwood frame. You get a matching ottoman along with the chair. Order online and save 15 percent.

Target locations in Alexandria (703-706-3840), Falls Church (703-253-0021 and 703-237-8118), Hyattsville (301-955-0005), and Wheaton (301-946-8006).

Shallal had the right instinct when he opened at the corner of 14th and V in September 2005; the U Street corridor is one of the District’s hottest neighborhoods. Shallal’s next three ventures also are in areas bursting with development.

In August, Shallal opened a Busboys and Poets in Arlington’s Shirlington. The restaurant is part of the second phase of the Village at Shirlington. Anchored by a new Arlington County library branch, the relocated Signature Theatre space, and a Harris Teeter supermarket, the development includes more than 20 restaurants and will be within walking distance of the Shirlington Station—a 2,400-square-foot enclosed bus station scheduled to open next year.

Prince George’s County will also claim a Busboys and Poets as part of Arts District Hyattsville, a community of rowhouses, lofts, and “live-work homes,” in which residents set up shop in the downstairs of their rowhouses.Less than a mile away, University Town Center is undergoing a large expansion. When completed, the 56-acre mixed-use development will include 12 restaurants, five office buildings, a 14-screen movie theater, a big Safeway, and nearly 1,500 residential units.Also planned: an upgrade to the Mall at Prince George’s and a new retail project called Metro Shops, both within walking distance of the Prince George’s Plaza Metro stop.

In DC, Shallal has his eyes on the Mount Vernon Triangle, bound by Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey avenues. Shallal’s latest venture in DC—a new project that likely won’t be called Busboys and Poets—will be part of CityVista, a three-acre development at the corner of Fifth and K streets that will include 442 condos, a Safeway, Starbucks, Results the Gym, and hardware store. According to the Mount Vernon Triangle Community Improvement District, neighborhood development plans include more than 1,900 condos and 2 million square feet of office space. The flagship project is Mount Vernon Place: 11 buildings of offices, condos, shops, and restaurants.

Where will Shallal go next? Maybe Brookland in Northeast DC or Arlington’s Columbia Pike corridor, areas real-estate experts say are on the verge of a boom.